Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2011 October 2

= October 2 =

Screenplay question
Often in some screenplays, the writer will include a line that says "Off [character's name]" -- eg, "Off Jack" or "Off Jill." What does this mean?

I think this more frequently comes at the end of the scene, so it seems to be a camera direction to show that character's face, particularly after a particularly fun zinger or important reveal. But I'm not sure. This isn't a very easy google-able question. Anyone know precisely what this means? Ratethat324 (talk) 03:58, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I believe it means "off camera", where the remark comes from a character who is out of camera shot. But as I've only acted in stage plays, I could be wrong. --TammyMoet (talk) 08:48, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Or it could mean that the character is to walk off stage. Note: the last play I was in was probably some nativity play that I've long since purged from memory.  Dismas |(talk) 12:23, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
 * According to websites like and  it means "off stage". How this differs from O.C. (off camera) and O.S. (off screen) is not clear. Perhaps "off" is more common in scripts for plays. Pfly (talk) 04:05, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

British TV Guides
I live in Germany and watch quite a lot of British TV (BBC, ITV, Channel 4&5). I'm a subscriber of the Radio Times which apparently is on sale in Britain on Tuesdays (before the Saturday the Programme starts). Due to postal reasons (united Europe etc. ???) I normally get it delivered on Fridays (just in time) but very often on Saturdays or even after the weekend (not much use then). So I'm looking for an alternative - a TV-Magazine which is on sale earlier (and in due course should be delivered earlier in Germany then). So, please, can you help me. --Geometretos (talk) 10:24, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
 * www.radiotimes.com is what I use, it has a 2 week spread.--TammyMoet (talk) 10:45, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for the answer, I have been using it as well. But they are "improving" their website so that one can not really use it INSTEAD of a weekly magazine. I'm looking for something on paper (I very much like the Radio Times btw) to browse and plan ahead (program my recorder).--Geometretos (talk) 14:16, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The problem is that this information is released to all the TV listings magazines at the same time, so AFAIK they all get published on Tuesdays. Hopefully the RT website will be back to normal soon.--Shantavira|feed me 16:07, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

tvguide.co.uk — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.90.142 (talk) 16:15, 2 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure why you don't think you can't use it instead of a weekly magazine. I quite like the improvements to the RT website, I find it easier to use. I also use tvguide as recommended above, but I prefer the white background of the RT site. --TammyMoet (talk) 17:06, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I primarily watch crime dramas and comedy and - as I forgot to mention, obviously - NEVER watch TV live; I program the whole week on saturdays. The old website allowed me to mark "favourite shows" and print them out in date/time order on 4-5 pages, without the need to browse through any online-listings, no pictures, no "recommendations". I only had to check for repeats. So the whole programming took 20 minutes a week. As far as I see the new website does not allow that, apart from it being "flash" and "modern" which I hate. In Germany we have some two-weekly tv-magazines which are on sale thursdays (9 days ahead) in the week before. Apparently there is no such magazine in the UK. Thank you all for your help, I will try tvguide.co.uk. --Geometretos (talk) 20:18, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I used to have an Electronic Programme Guide on my digital TV which allowed me to programme my recording up to two weeks in advance. However, the company supplying it went bust or something, and that particular guide disappeared. It was replaced by a weekly one, which I agree isn't as useful. TammyMoet (talk) 13:45, 3 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I've got that as well, but only for German TV; it is provided by the (German!) Manufactorer of the Satellite-Device on a weekly basis. But legally I am not allowed to watch British TV (not paying British licence fee), so I can't really complain to anyone ;)--Geometretos (talk) 15:49, 3 October 2011 (UTC)